Minus SMEs raising Rs 335 cr, IPO mkt even more weak last year

SummaryThe IPO market, which hit 12-year low in 2013, could have been worse had it not been for the large number of SME issues raising Rs 335 crore or 21 per cent of total money raised through this route during the year.

The IPO market, which hit 12-year low in 2013, could have been worse had it not been for the large number of SME issues raising Rs 335 crore or 21 per cent of total money raised through this route during the year.

Top bourses BSE and NSE promoted Small and Medium Enterprise platforms in 2013 and as a result 35 small units hit the market raising Rs 335 crore.

The entire primary market, on the other hand, stood at a paltry Rs 1,619 crore - 12-year low - according to the data collated by Prime Database.

Against this, in 2012, only 14 SME IPOs worth Rs 103 crore had hit the market.

The BSE SME Platform launched in March 2012 saw 31 small units getting listed in 2013, while the NSE platform - Emerge - launched in March 2013, saw 4 companies getting listed in the year, as against an expected 9-10 listing in the first three months of the launch.

According to analysts, the IPO market was dry due to regulatory issues and the overall dull economic conditions.

On the regulatory front, the Sebi demand for offering a safety net for retail investors in the IPO market acted as a big bump, said an exchange official who did not want to be named.

The official said, however, that the Sebi proposal for an IPO-less listing for SMEs will drive the market going forward.

The year closed with the Sensex gaining 9.1 per cent and the Nifty rallying 6.5 per cent.

Some of the SMEs that did well on the market included Looks Health Services, GCM Securities, SRG Housing, Max Alert Systems, Comfort Commotrade, RCL Retail, Eco Friendly Food Processing, HPC Biosciences, Samruddyhi Realty and Ashapura Intimates Fashion among others. On an average, these stocks have risen more than two times their issue price, according to exchange data.

"The mobilisation in 2013 was the lowest in the past 12 years, the previous low being in 2001 when only Rs 296 crore were raised through IPOs. The highest-ever mobilisation through IPOs was in 2010 at Rs 37,535 crore," Prime Database managing director Pranav Haldea said.

This is clear from the fact that there were just three main-board Initial Public Offers during the entire year. They were Just Dial's Rs 919 crore, Repco Home Finance's Rs 270 crore issue and V-Mart Retail's Rs 94 crore IPO.

Haldea said 2013 highlighted the continuing dismal state of the IPO market in the last three years with